Guilty Not Guilty

Foreword

In England and Wales, lawyers fall into two categories, barristers and solicitors, dependent on their course of qualification. Barristers are regulated by the Bar Council and solicitors by the Law Society. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own separate judicial systems.

A barrister specializing in criminal law acts as an advocate in court, arguing cases in front of juries in the Crown Court or in front of senior judges in the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice, and the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, whereas a solicitor does everything else that requires compliance with the law, such as wills, contracts, divorce petitions, transfers of property etc. In addition, in criminal cases, solicitors generally prepare the ‘brief’, the documentation in the case. A barrister may act as either the prosecution or defence counsel, but not as both in the same trial!

In the English criminal justice system, the accused will generally appoint a solicitor to advise them (or have one appointed for them). If the case goes to trial in the Crown Court, the solicitor will instruct a barrister to act as the advocate in the proceedings. Throughout the case, the solicitor and the barrister work closely together to plan strategy. There is no distinction in seniority due to their separate roles.

A Queen’s Counsel, QC, is a senior member of the legal profession, usually, but not always, a barrister, and the term is an honorary title that conveys esteem, experience and recognition within the ranks of lawyers. Persons appointed QC will have made a substantial contribution to the administration and delivery of the law.

Unlike in the United States, where it effectively means ‘lawyer’, the term ‘attorney’ in the UK is reserved for someone who is appointed to act specifically on someone else’s behalf, often through a power of attorney document. Such an attorney may be a lawyer but is often a non-legally-qualified family member.

Judges in England and Wales are selected by the politically-independent Judicial Appointments Commission. They are chosen solely on merit from the ranks of senior lawyers, mostly barristers. Judges are never elected, nor appointed by the holder of a political office.

In this book, lawyers, both barristers and solicitors are referred to using these terms, and the court proceedings are described in accordance with generally accepted practice in England and Wales.